Pierre André Latreille

Pierre André Latreille
Born	(1762-11-29)29 November 1762 Brive-la-Gaillarde, Kingdom of France
Died	6 February 1833(1833-02-06) (aged 70) Paris, Kingdom of France
Nationality	French
Alma mater	University of Paris
Scientific career
Fields	Entomology, arachnology, carcinology
Institutions	Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle

Pierre André Latreille (fr; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoologist who studied arthropods (insects, spiders, crabs, etc.). First trained as a priest, he was jailed during the French Revolution but freed after spotting a rare beetle in prison, Necrobia ruficollis.

He wrote his first major work, Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, in 1796. Later, he worked at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. His work on arthropod classification earned him respect. He wrote the insect section for George Cuvier's famous book Le Règne Animal—the only part not written by Cuvier himself.

Latreille was seen as the top insect expert of his time. One student called him "the prince of entomologists."

Biography

Latreille's birthplace in Brive-la-Gaillarde

Early years

Pierre André Latreille was born on 29 November 1762 in Brive, France. His father, Jean Joseph Sahuguet d'Amarzit, never acknowledged him, and his mother left him at birth. He got the name "Latreille" in 1813; its origin is unclear. As a child, he was cared for by different people—first a doctor, then a merchant, and later a baron who took him to Paris in 1778.

He studied to become a priest at the University of Paris. By 1786, he was a deacon but never worked as a priest. During his studies, he became interested in natural history, collecting insects and learning about plants from René Just Haüy. This led him to meet Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

Necrobia ruficollis

Finding Necrobia ruficollis in prison saved Latreille's life.

After the French Revolution, priests were asked to swear loyalty to the new government. Latreille refused and was jailed in 1793, facing possible execution.

A prison doctor noticed Latreille studying a beetle on the floor. When Latreille said it was rare, the doctor sent it to young naturalist Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent. Recognizing Latreille's name, Bory helped free him. They stayed friends. The beetle had been identified by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. Without this chance, Latreille would likely have died as all other prisoners were executed within a month.

Portrait of Latreille by Louis Figuier, 1875

After prison, Latreille taught and wrote to other insect researchers, including Fabricius. In 1796, with Fabricius' encouragement, he published Précis des caractères génériques des insectes. He was briefly held again in 1797, but scientists like Georges Cuvier and Lamarck helped free him. In 1798, he joined the Muséum, working with Lamarck on arthropods and publishing scientific works.

Later career

When entomologist Guillaume-Antoine Olivier died in 1814, Latreille took his place at the French Academy of Sciences. Over the next few years, he contributed heavily to science, including writing about arthropods for Cuvier’s Le Règne Animal (1817). In 1819, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. As Lamarck went blind, Latreille took on more of his work. In 1821, he received the Légion d'honneur. He became professor of entomology in 1829 after Lamarck’s death.

Final years

Latreille's tomb at Père Lachaise Cemetery (39th division)

From 1824, Latreille’s health worsened. He handed teaching duties to Jean Victoire Audouin and worked with assistants like Amédée Louis Michel Lepeletier. He helped found the French Entomological Society and served as its honorary president.

His wife fell ill in 1830 and died that May. Latreille had married at some point, though he had once been a priest. He left the museum in 1832 to avoid a cholera outbreak, returning to Paris later. He died of bladder disease on 6 February 1833. He had no children but had adopted a niece.

Memory

The French Entomological Society raised funds for a monument at his grave in Père Lachaise Cemetery. It included a obelisk and an inscription honoring the beetle that saved him: "Necrobia ruficollis Latreillii salvator" ("Necrobia ruficollis, Latreille’s savior").

Many species and groups were named after him, including:

A 3D scan of the worm Lumbrineris latreilli, named after Latreille.

• Lumbrineris latreilli Audouin & H. Milne-Edwards, 1833
• Cecrops latreillii Leach, 1816
• Apseudes latreillii (H. Milne-Edwards, 1828)
• Orbinia latreillii (Audouin & H. Milne-Edwards, 1833)
• Latreillia Roux, 1830
• Cilicaea latreillei Leach, 1818
• Bittium latreillii (Payraudeau, 1826)
• Macrophthalmus latreillei (Desmarest, 1822)
• Eurypodius latreillei Guérin, 1828
• Sphex latreillei Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1831

Work

Latreille named the rough woodlouse Porcellio scaber in 1804.

Latreille made major contributions to science, especially in classifying arthropods. Johan Christian Fabricius called him "the foremost entomologist of our time."

Classification

He was the first to try organizing arthropods naturally. His "eclectic method" used all available evidence without favoring one idea over another.

He named many groups, including Thysanura, Siphonaptera, Ostracoda, Stomatopoda, Xiphosura, and Myriapoda.

Type species

Though he named many species, Latreille focused on describing genera. He introduced the idea of a "type species"—a species that defines a genus’s name. He also preferred naming families after a key genus rather than a trait, setting an early example for classifying groups.

Other websites

• Works by Pierre André Latreille at the Biodiversity Heritage Library